Oo The Jewish Synagogue and Mattancherry Palace oO

In picture is the most famous Synagogue in Kerala , the Paradesi Synagogue. It is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth ofNations,located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It was built in 1568 by he Malabar Yahudan people or Cochin Jewish Community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews",a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town and is the only one of the seven synagogues in the area still in use.

The complex has four buildings. It was built adjacent to the Mattanchery PalaceTemple on the land gifted to the Malabari Yahuden community by the Raja of Kochi, Rama Varma. The Mattancherry Palace temple and th e Mattancherry synagogue share a common wall.

The Malabari Jews formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of world wide spice trade.

A rare 'Black Jewish Synagogue' at Chendamangalam, a small village in

Ernakulam district of Kerala. The term 'Black Jew' refers to the ancient

Malabar Jewish Communities. Chendamangalam was the first settlement

of Jews in Kerala, before they moved to Fort Kochi. The oldest Jewish

tombstone in Kerala can be seen at this Synagogue.

Mattancherry Palace with its medieval charm is situated at Palace Road, Mattancherry, Kochi.It was built by the Portugese and presented to Veera Kerala Varma (1537-65), Raja of Kochi, in 1555 AD. The Dutch carried out some extensions and renovations in the palace in 1663,and thereafter it was popularly called Dutch Palace.The landing of Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer at Kapadu, Calicut in 1498 was welcomed by the Kochi rulers. They were given exclusive right to construct factories. The Portuguese repulsed the repeated attacks of the Zamorins (Samoothiri) and the Cochin

Rajas practically became vassals of the Portuguese.The influence of the Portuguese were supplanted by the Dutch and they took over Mattancherry in 1663. Subsequently, the area was taken over by Hyder Ali (Tipu Sultan's father, Mysore Kingdom) and still later by the British East India Company.

oO THE EDAKKAL CAVES Oo

Edakkal Caves are two natural caves located 1,200 metres above sea level on Ambukutty Mala 25 km from Kalpetta in the Wayanad District in Western Ghats. Inside the caves are pictorial writings believed to be dating to at least 5000 BC, from the Neolithic man, indicating the presence of a prehistoric civilization or settlement in this region.

The Stone Age carvings of Edakkal are rare and are the only known examples from South India.

The caves were accidentally discovered by Fred Fawcett, a police official of the erstwhile Malabar state in 1890 who immediately recognised their anthropological and historical importance.

oO The MUZIRIS Oo

Muziris is an ancient sea port on the banks of the river Periyar on the Malabar Coast. The ancient name of this port was MuciriPattanam. Muciri means, Cleft Palate and Pattanam means, city. In a flood of the river Periyar in 1341 CE, Muziris was destroyed and centre of commerce was shifted to other areas like Cochin and Calicut.

For long it was considered to be Kodungaloor. However, in 1983, a large hoard of Roman coins was found at a site around six miles from a place called Pattanam, North Paravur some distance away from Kodungaloor. Excavations carried out from 2004 to 2009 at Pattanam has revealed evidence that may point out the exact position of Muziris.

Pattanam is a small village, two km north of North Paravur and twenty-five km north of Kochi in Ernakulam District in the Chittattukara Panchayat the northern shore of Paravur thodu, a branch of Periyar River.

The archaeological excavations indicate that this village site could have been part of the ancient port city of Muziris, which is referred to by Greek-Latin and Indian classical sources as far back as 2000 years ago. It is now believed that the name Pattanam is the abbreviation of what was originally Musiripattanam, the local name of Muziris.

Its mentioned as Murachipattanam in Valmiki's Ramayana.

Flood of 1341 A.D

The flood of the river Periyar in 1341 AD resulted in the splitting of the left branch of the river into two just before Aluva. The flood silted the right branch (known as River Changala) and the natural harbour at the mouth of the river, and resulted in the creation of a new harbour at Kochi. An island was formed with the name Vypinkara between Vypin to Munambam during the flood. During this time there was the rise of the Samoothiri Rajas of Kozhikode. The town was nearly completely destroyed by the Portuguese (Suarez de Menezes) on September 1, 1504 in retaliation for the Samoothiri Raja's actions against them.

The trade relationship with foreign countries through Muziris paved way for the incoming of religions like Islam , Judaism , and Christianity and hence the COSMOPOLITAN culture of Kerala.

oO god's own country Oo

INTRODUCTION

Kerala or Keralam (Malayalam: കേരളം) is a land of lush greenery, seemingly endless backwaters, wonderful waterfalls, mystic peaks, pristine beaches and lots of other wonders making it truly God's Own Country.

Kerala is an Indian state, located south most on its west coast. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the south and southeast and the Lakshadweep Sea towards the west.

Natives of Kerala are known as Malayalis. The country was anciently called Cheralam and Cherala Nadu. A 3rd-century-BC rock inscription by emperor Asoka the Great references Kerala as Keralaputra. Similarly, the Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei references the Chera territory as Cerobothra.

MAP

LOCATION OF KERALA I

N INDIA

MAP OF KERALA

QUICK FACTS

Country India

Region South India

Established 1st November 1956

Capital and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

Largest City

Largest Metro Kochi

Districts 14

Official Language Malayalam

The state has three major international airports at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

Helpful Websites

keralatourism.org

keralatourism.gov.in

kerala.gov.in

oO The Land of Spices Oo

Spices are defined as "a strongly flavored or aromatic substance of vegetable origin, obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as a condiment". In ancient times, spices were as precious as gold and as significant as medicines , preservatives and perfumes. Humans were using spices in 50,000 BC. India produces 86% of the spices in the world today and quality spices come from Kerala.

Spices and herbs are good not only for our taste buds but also for our health. They supply calcium, iron, vitamin B, vitamin C , carotene and other antioxidants. For instance fresh parsley has been linked with cancer prevention due to its antioxidant content and spicy food is much more appealing than a vitamin pill. Besides herbs and spices don't have any kilojoules or fat, so you can eat them to your heart's content. The spice trade in Kerala started at least 3000 years before Christ.(More details regarding the spice trade shall be posted later).This is what Kerala was known for in the earliest ages and this is what changed the face of Kerala forever. Christopher Columbus found out America accidentally when he sailed in the year 1491 to find out a sea-route to Kerala, the land of spices. In Kerala varieties of spices grow abundantly. The Western world bought the spices from Kerala, that gave flavor to the foods of the west. MAJOR SPICES IN KERALA Cardmom Cassia Chilly Cinnamon Clove Coffee Curry Leaf Cashew Ginger Greater Galanga Kokam Nut Meg Pepper Tamarind Tea Turmeric Vanilla

For information about Spices :

http://www.spiceskerala.com/